Roll Call...Riot Officer

This Is Not A Test Peacekeeper Officer

There are only a few days before NOVA Open and the last officer to come to the warband is another Peacekeeper Officer from Officer Pack 1 ($13.00). No patrol is complete without an officer with a shotgun. The last officer to report is eager to blast your opponents with his Mossberg 500 riot shotgun. The shotgun has some great advantages when used in close combat situations, an added point of weapon strength within a 12" range.

This Peace Officer is decked out in the standard riot armor, but without the heavy coat or cape of some of the other warband members. The officer has the standard MSP Stetson, painted with the Vallejo Khaki Grey with Khaki highlight. The riot armor was based with Reaper MSP Military Grey and then washed with Vallejo Dark Grey Wash. The officer has Army Painter Leather Brown. His boots are Vallejo Black Grey with Citadel Boltgun Metal spurs.

With the warband finished, it was a matter of packing it up and shipping it off to the NOVA Open for the Charitable Foundation Silent Auction. There are a number of other great raffles that are available and all proceeds go to some really fantastic charities: The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Doctors without Borders, and the Fisher House Foundation. I hope everyone is able to support these great charities with the chance for some really amazing armies and pieces.

Dragonforge Designs Oakk - Wood Floors Kickstarter Update

The Kickstarter campaign is quickly approaching $1000 and hopefully will make it to the $1100 mark to unlock the next stretch goal.

Currently there are sets of bases for 30 mm, 40 mm, 50 mm. The first stretch goal unlocked the 80 mm and 120 mm bases. At $1100 all pledges of $50 or more will receive a free set of small crates. Following this, should the Kickstarter get to $1300 then the Heroic Set One will be released.

If you get in on the Kickstarter campaign, you essentially save 10% over retail prices. I've used lots of Dragonforge bases, many of the Peacekeeper warband were. These bases will be a great addition and will go very well with some of the Brigade Games miniatures that will soon be started for another This Is Not A Test warband.

This Is Not A Test: Marsha's Report - Snipe Hunt

This Is Not A Test: Marshal's Report - Snipe Hunt

The following are the Marshal's reports of recent occurrences of peacekeeper activity from event at or near to Dropzone Games in Glen Burnie, MD. All reports are provided directly from the surviving ranking officer and are considered accurate and true.

Marshal O'Halihan leading the Gardia

Marshal's Report

Snipe hunt

Reported by: Marshal O'Halihan
Date: October 12, 2086

Unit details:

Marshal O'Halihan
K-9 Handler Mutt
K-9 units, Dawg & Cagney
Sniper Manny
Officer Flynn
Officer Murphy
Officer Scullin
Officer Timmy O'Toole

Activity Report

Officers approaching the northeast ruins

The Gardia were informed of a potential cache of relics in some nearby ruins. These relics are thought to only be known by a few of the locals who do not have the capabilities to secure the potential arms and would be at the mercy of any who recovered the relics. Marshal O'Halihan was assigned to take the Gardia and secure any weaponry or other relics before they became a problem.

The unit approached the ruins of this old mixed-use area from the east in two distinct groups. Marshal O'Halihan lead K-9 officer Mutt, Dawg, Cagney, and Officer Flynn to the southeast approach. Sniper Manny, Officer Murphy, Officer Scullin, and Officer Timmy O'Toole approached the area from the northeast approach.

Officer Manny had previously scouted a structure that would allow for visibility across the entire area. Officer Manny quickly moved into position, securing a structure and making his way to the second floor to provide a wide area of visibility and to allow him to provide cover fire to the other officers. Officer Murphy moved into a support position on the ground floor of the building, which may have possibly been an apartment building. With this cover, Officer Timmy O'Toole was able to secure one of the suspected ruin sites.

Mutt covering Dawg

The Caravanners moved in quickly and started laying down fire at the officers. The Caravanners were bolstered by a number of mutants which seem to be under Killee's command. I'm not sure how she was keeping them organized, but they seemed eager to engage.

Officer Flynn was able to move quickly to secure a second sets of ruins. K-9 Handler Mutt sent the K-9 Units forward to engage a few of the caravanners that emerged from the remnants of a structure. On the approach of the K-9 Unit Dawg, the caravanner Spot emerged from the ruins to engage. K-9 Handler Mutt fired on Spot as Dawg engaged. The shot was on target and sufficient to incapacitate Spot. Dawg continued into the building to engage  Ms. Perfect. Quickly Dawg was surrounded by Mrs. Argyle and Mrs. Stuffings as well.

K-9 Unit Cagney moved up along the backside of a ruined pipeline to approach the group engaged with Dawg. Upon emerging from behind the pipe, Cagey was shot at by Mr. Flash. Cagney moved on to engage Mr. Flash to keep him isolated from the rest of the engagement.

Marshal O'Halihan was able to secure the ruins and send Offiver Flynn forward. With the caravanners essentially pinned down behind some ruins further to the west, Sniper Manny was able to provide support fire that allowed Officer Timmy O'Toole and Marshal O'Halihan to perform thorough searches of the ruins. Officer Scullin moved forward into the ruins to provide some cover for Officer Timmy O'Toole and to attempt to push the caravanners out of cover. The caravanners moved in from the southwest and caught Officer Scullin in a crossfire. While he was wounded by Killee in the firefight, he was merely banged up in the engagement.

Dawg surrounded by caravanners

When he had finished his search, Marshal O'Halihan was able to engage the caravanners who were engaged with Dawg. After Dawg was knocked down, Marshal O'Halihan was able to wound Mrs. Stuffings and Mrs. Perfect. The shot was sufficient to take Mrs. Stuffings down, but Mrs. Perfect ran for cover.

As this engagement progressed a significant electrical storm was moving into the area. Both sides moved quickly to disengage and retreat to safer locations. As a result of the caravanners hasty retreat all officers were recovered and returned to HQ.

Post-Activity update

Killee's increasing caravanner band

Though Officer Scullin is new to the unit, his bravery and tenacity were recognized. He has been promoted within the warband to a specialist. Sniper Manny was recognized further and received the personal targeting array that was discovered by Offiver Timmy O'Toole. The Gardia greatly benefits from the resourcefulness of Officer Flynn. Based on the outstanding performance of Mutt and Officer Murphy, they were recognized for their marksmanship. Dawg was recognized for her continued ability to engage and melee with the enemy. For his bravery to secure the ruins, Officer Timmy O'Toole was awarded a set of Riot Gear and a bayonet.

Rumors

Around the settlements, there are incoming rumors of some clans of mutants even more deplorable and appalling than those we have encountered recently. If the rumors and old campfire stories are true than a true vile menace is about to return to the Tri-State Area, the Cannibal Clan. The legendary Wormwood clan; an inbred, cannibalistic family that dwells somewhere in the caves on the border of the Highlands. Reports have come to us that this cannibal clan (and there may be more than one clan given the distance between the reporting settlements) has been raiding small, isolated settlements and absconding with people for, one can only imagine, the most dreadful of reasons. Further reports indicate that the clans are desperate and using the most gruesome weapons to eliminate any resistance. We will be investigating these reports as we patrol the region and report back what we learn. Hopefully we will know more before Halloween!

This Is Not A Test: Marshal's Report: The night has eyes

This Is Not A Test: The night has eyes

The following are the Marshal's reports of recent occurrences of peacekeeper activity from event at or near to Dropzone Games in Glen Burnie, MD. All reports are provided directly from the surviving ranking officer and are considered accurate and true. Just as an aside, I took a look at Joey's caravanner sheets and learned that the leader is Tilly, but I like Killee better so I'm sticking with it. Perhaps that is just the moniker this group of peacekeepers, The Gardai, have given her.

Marshal's Report

Gardai symbol

The night has eyes

Reported by: Marshal O'Halihan
Date: October 7, 2086

Unit details:

Marshal O'Halihan
K-9 Handler Mutt and K-9 unit
Sniper Manny
Officer Flynn
Officer Murphy
Officer O'Brien
Officer Scullin

Activity Report

Routine patrol

Oct. It had been six days of routine patrols and most signs of the caravanners seem to have ceased. After the last assault on the caravanner group lead by Killee. Officer Manny was able to track them for about two days, but then lost the trail to them after two days of substantial downpours. Marshal O'Halihan ordered the patrol into a nearby farm house that had a mostly intact stone perimeter fence and the remnants of a set of fenced animal pens.

The first night went through with no issue, which was a boon for the unit. Nearing the end of this month-long patrol rotation is draining and the men are nearly spent so the rest was welcome. The second evening was not so restful.

Wasteland farmhouse

On second watch, the test started for Officers Flynn and Scullin. Scullin was sent out to support us after the last incident with Killee's caravanners. His new eyes served us well as he was able to quickly spot a group approaching the compound and send the alarm through the unit. the caravanners moved quietly into the compound and it became instantly apparent that they intended to take us completely by surprise and put an end to us silently.

Post-Incident Activities

Laser Carbine Rifle

After the route of the Caravanners, the unit did a full sweep of the area. Officer Flynn discovered a laser carbine rifle in the remnants of what appears to have once been a storage shed. This seems to have been an absconded weapon from a time when a resident had served. The rifle was stored with the remnants of other military materials all of which were useless. It is not entirely understood how this rifle survived the fallout and local destruction.

On the following day after, the unit took some well deserved R&R. Officer O'Brien was missing at role call to start the march back to the HQ. Marshal O'Halihan got word of a low-rent tavern with a local strong brew. Officer O'Brien was found to be in the middle of festivities and a scuffle and inebriated. Officer O'Brien was placed on a one week confinement to HQ.

The hard work of the officers is starting to show. Marshal O'Halihan and Sniper Manny were recognized for steadfast training and improvement on the firing range. Sniper Murphy was rewarded with mesh armor. After the close combat altercations with the Caravanners, Officers O'Brien and Murphy continued engaging and training in close combat and hand to hand melee. By the number of bruises on Officer O'Brien it was clear that Officer Murphy was able to land more punches, but to his credit, Officer O'Brien seems better able to weather the blows. Officer Flynn was armed with K-9 Officer Mutt's assault rifle and Officer Mutt was given the laser carbine rifle based on his continued skill and mettle in combat situations. He immediately immersed himself with the care and maintenance of the weapon until he was familiar with the inside and out.

The dedication and training of K-9 Handler Mutt and the efficiency of his trained K-9 unit, Dawg, was rewarded with a promotion. Given this promotion and continued hard work, it was noted that Dawg has seen specific improvements in health and well-being and which seems to have resulted in a quicker step. To further reward K-9 Handler Mutt, he has been assigned an additional K-9 unit, Cagney.

Officer Timmy O'Toole was assigned to the unit. Officer O'Toole sought out to join the Gardia after hearing of the Marshal O'Halihan's leadership and the skill of the officers in his command.

Painting up Dawg

Every good police unit, in this case my peacekeepers for This Is Not A Test. My K-9 Handler, Mutt, only works with the best and highest class dogs. Dawg is a wasteland rarity, a beautiful German Sheppard of the old lineages. She is a tenacious and quick companion who would put her life on the line to save others.

The base model is the dog miniature from the Reaper Miniatures familiars pack ($1.99), one of the Bones line. This pack of miniatures includes a bat, a hawk/eagle, a faerie dragon, a cat, a weasel/ferret, and of course this dog.

To get the classic German Sheppard look, I went immediately to a Bing Image search. Sheppard's typically have a brown/tan legs and under body with a dark black top half and muzzle. I started by blocking in the colors using the Reaper MSP HD Desert Tan for the lower body. The underbelly and highlights on the legs are Reaper MSP HD Maiden Flesh and the Tusk Ivory. The black is from Vellejo Game Ink.

I used the Game Ink because it let me build up into the body of the miniature and let me do some wet blending in the transition. I painted up the lower body and then applied the black ink from the top down. When the black and brown blended, it provided a transition area. When this was dry, I went back with the Desert Tan to very lightly add some highlighting to the transition. Now one caution is the blank ink is quite shiny. I toned this down with a bit of dry brown brush to these parts, but was careful not to totally flatten out the black.

I based Dawg on a standard beveled edge plastic base. I painted this green with some Vallejo Model Color U.S. Dark Green. I added a few small stones which were sculpt remnants from some magic putty that I used for another project. I'll post more about the work with Magic Putty soon. The stones were painted with a combination of Reaper MSP HD Field Grey, Ash Grey, and Dirty Grey. The grass comes from the free sample of Gamer's Grass that I got in my NOVA Open swag bag.

This Is Not A Test: Marshal's report: Caravanner Raids

This Is Not A Test Battle Report

The following are the Marshal's reports of recent occurrences of peacekeeper activity from event at or near to Games and Stuff in Glen Burnie, MD. All reports are provided directly from the surviving ranking officer and are considered accurate and true. 

Marshal's Report: 

Caravanner Ambush at Cromwell Business Park

Reported by: Marshal O'Halihan
Date: September 27, 2086

Unit Details:

Marshal O'Halihan
K-9 Handler Mutt and K-9 unit
Sniper Manny
Officer Brown
Officer Murphy
Officer O'Brien

Activity Report

During normal patrol operations, Marshal O'Halihan lead a unit of peacekeepers on a routine patrol through the old Cromwell Business Park when a group of caravanners ambushed the officers. It is suspected that the caravanners were just out scavenging for materials. Without warning, the caravanners started firing on the officers.

Tight spot for K-9 Handler Mutt

The caravanner known as Black Widow, initiated the conflict by incapacitating Officer Brown. The wound to Officer Brown turned out to be terminal and he died at the scene. Officer Murphy immediately returned fire and was able to knock down Mr. Flash. The shot was enough to keep Mr. Flash from the firefight.

As the officers sought the cover of a nearly demolished office building the overwhelming numbers of the caravanners was quickly apparent. The K-9 Handler, Mutt, sought to secure what was remaining of the second floor to offer some height advantage. He was pursued by the Caravanners, Mrs. Suffings, Mr. Flash, and Killee. The K-9 unit quickly locked into melee with Mrs. Stuffings, but subsequently Killee entered and incapacitated the K-9. At this time Mr. Flash started lobbing malatov cocktails at Mutt. In the ensuing conflagration and confusion, Killee managed to get a shot on K-9 handler Mutt who became ineffective.

During this time a second force of caravanners approached from left west side of the building around some architectural sculpture. This second group started firing and hit Marshal O'Halihan. The shot made it through armor and it quickly became apparent that an alternate strategy was in order. Marshal O'Halihan immediately withdrew from the conflict under cover of Officer Murphy. Sniper Manny and Officer O'Brien remained to lay down cover fire and to secure the wounded units before withdrawing from the area. During the withdrawal, Officer O'Brien was able to wound Granny Hawk to keep her from pursuing further.

Marshal's Report: Caravanner Kidnapping Raid 

Reported by: Marshal O'Halihan
Date: September 27, 2086

Caravanner raid on remote settlement

Unit Details:

Marshal O'Halihan
K-9 Handler Mutt and K-9 Unit
Sniper Manny
Officer O'Brien
Officer Murphy
Officer Flynn

Activity Report

Following the ambush at the Cromwell Business Park, Marshal O'Halihan regrouped the unit and added Officer Flynn. In an effort to prevent further issues with the caravanners under Killee's direction, Marshal O'Halihan had Sniper Manny track the caravanners from the business park.

Sniper Manny was able to track the caravanners to a remote settlement about 20 miles distant. The settlement was comprised of a main house with two smaller out buildings. The area around the settlement was well overgrown. It appeared that the caravanners intended to loot and plunder the entire settlement and take the inhabitants as captives. Marshal O'Halihan was able to deploy the forces to three sides of the settlement in an effort to provide cross fire for rescue operations.

Killee, Mr. Flash, & Mrs. Argyle flee

Sniper Manny was deployed to the north east quarter of the settlement where he was able to utilize significant cover with clear lines of sight to the center of the settlement. Officer Murphy, K-9 handler Mutt and the K-9 unit deployed to the south western corner to utilize some natural rock cover and vegetation to approach from the rear of the compound. Marshal O'Halihan led Officer O'Brien and Officer Flynn to the main approach of the compound.

With first sight it was clear that the caravanners were about to depart the compound. The inhabitants were bound and gagged and assigned to the caravanners. Immediately Officer O'Brien was able to identify Killee who had a captive in tow and was ordering the others to leave. He had a clear shot and utilized it effectively. The ambush immediately proved effective and the caravanners acted as one would expect. Killee after the shot immediately made to flee and took Mr. Flash and Mrs. Argyle with her for protection.

Sniper Manny taking Swifty out

While Swiftly was making to escape the compound, Sniper Manny was able to knock him down with a well-aimed shot to prevent escape. The other caravanners attempted to engage and provide cover fire, but were ineffective with no leadership. As other caravanners made to flee with captives, Officer O'Brien was able to mortally wound Mrs. Woods to prevent her escape. Marshal O'Halihan was able to incapacitate Black Widow who was holed up in one of the out buildings and laying down machine gun fire on the officers. When it was apparent that the officers clearly had the upper hand and the remaining caravanners were abandoned, they made a hasty retreat.

All materials were recovered and the inhabitants of the settlement freed.  As a special thank you to the officers, the inhabitants gifted Marshal O'Halihan with a cache of pre-fall ammunition for his Large Caliber Assault Rifle. To assist the unit, HQ has assigned a new officer, Officer Scullin, to the ranks. The unit will continue pursuit of the caravanners until captured or killed.

ASIDE: If you look closely at the settlement picture toward the top of this report, you will notice a cool little bottle cap activation marker. These are a nice little touch to your gaming table and are available in the This Is Not A Test shop.

You won't like the wasteland when it's angry!

This Is Not A Test Wasteland Hulk

Base Model

Reaper Bones Clay Golem

With more regular blog updates planned, I needed to come up with projects to complete. I thought to start with something that I could use for This Is Not a Test and coincidence has it that the Baltimore City Jail was closed this week, which I put together in my head for a project. I figured the one thing every nuclear wasteland makes is a gigantic hulking monster and where might one of these come from? A prison of course...so let's make a monster.

I have as stock selections the Reaper Bones I and II Kickstarter miniatures, which gives a few hundred to select as starters. There are a couple that may work as suitable base figures, but all would need to be adapted to some extent. I selected the Clay Golem (77170 $2.79), He simply had muscles on top of muscles which seems like a good mutation and one that would let you thrive as a hulking beast, potentially working under some gang leader.

Painting Process

Base Color

Recently, there was a step-by-step guide for a Librarian posted posted by Dave Taylor (Battle for the Craftworld - Painting the Librarian) that used a technique that I wanted to copy and it will work for this figure.

Base Color. As with all Bones miniatures, make sure you have washed it well with soapy and water before starting anything. There are plenty of posts on the Reaper forums about whether you should prime the miniature or not and what primers work. I have not attempted to prime any of my Bones. I started with a base color of Reaper MSP Sunburn Flesh on the entire miniature. Since I did not prime the figure, I just used the paint as it came. I had no issues with the hydrophobic nature of the Bones.

First wash

Depth. With the base color on the figure, I started to add the layers of depth to the miniature. There are lots of muscles, more than a typical humanoid and that creates lots of small spaces between the muscles. In addition to these spaces between the muscles, the larger muscles have some stretching to them that creates some extra grooves. Another complaint about the Bones material is a loss of detail. I have found that most of these complaints are because of the white color which makes seeing details hard. There are some smaller miniatures where the really fine details that were on the original metal version are lost, but by and large these are great figures.

I used the Citadel Devlan Mud Wash over all of the painted surface. The hydrophobic nature of the Bones is not an issue once a layer of paint is applies. I applied the wash liberally over the figure so a good amount of the wash would stay in the grooves and cracks.

Pants

Pants. After the wash was added, I realized that there was something significant missing from the figure. While it would have been fine with the small loin cloth bottom; it didn't hit the Hulk vision I had, I also did not think it wasteland enough. It also occurred to me that this would be perfect if this was the result of a nuclear radiation mutation on a prison inmate. Well to achieve the inmate look and to add some additional character to the miniature, I decided to add some pants. Well to be more precise the remnants of his prison jumpsuit.

Pants (Rear)

I used some Gale Force Nine green stuff to create the pants. Working is green stuff is still not something I have mastered, but as with all things more practice helps. I rolled out very thin sheets of green stuff since I wanted it to be close to the same thickness of pants. I actually woke up in the middle of the night thinking of this. I also wanted to make sure there was going to be some space between the pants and the leg.

Once the sheets were added, they were too long, so using one of my trusty dental picks, I started to cut off some of the extra. This worked out pretty well because the green stuff was just about 10 minutes old and very pliable. When I cut into it the green stuff stretched and pulled a little when cut which gave a great torn close look.

First Highlight

Getting deeper. I had to leave the figure overnight to let the green stuff set up and harden a bit more before proceeding. After about 12 hours, I started to add some of the up-coloring. I do not know if that is a real work or what the actual technique is called, but I started adding layers of lighter shades on top of the base coat. This is the technique outlined in Dave Taylor's Librarian paint job.

Second Highlight

I started by mixing a 3:1 paint mix of Reaper MSP Sunburn Flesh:Reaper MSP Suntan Flesh. I laid the color onto all of the muscle groups and any elevated surface. I applied this layer mostly to the top half of the figure, but did hit some of the exposed parts of the heel and ankle.

The next layer up was a 1:3 paint mix of Reaper MSP Sunbutn Flesh:Reaper MSP Suntan Flesh. For this, I tried to be a lot more cautious with the application. I started by adding to the top parts of the muscles and head and to the elbows. The second highlight made the entire figure look a lot like a painting of some sort and not all that natural because I did not do any wet blending. I would, but I don't know how. So to get this to look better blended, I used an additional wash of the Citadel Devlan Mud Wash. This took off the edges of the paint transitions and added some better shadow/depth to the muscle beds.

Finishing up. I, unwisely, did not follow Meg Maples' 6-Step Eye technique (blog post). As a result of not planning ahead, I had to use the magnifying glass to help me out (I really need a new contact prescription). I used the Reaper MSP Aged Bone as the base color for the eyes and an incredibly old Citadel Enchanted Blue for the iris. I didn't put in a pupil because I thought it made the figure a little crazier looking.

The pants took a lot to paint. Because I had to blend the color of the pants from the green stuff to the Bones materials and neither were primed, I used a bunch of layers. This just layer on layers of Reaper MSP Fire Orange to get a uniform color. The connection of the green stuff and the loin cloth of the Bones material was not perfect, so I used a very watered down Devlan Mud wash to the pants to add some depth/dirt and to cover up some of those areas.

Final Model (Front)

 The base was painted with Reaper MSP Ash Grey to give it the concrete look of the prison. A dry brush of a lightened Ash Grey. I got this by mixing the Ash Grey with some of the Aged Bone at about a 1:1.5 ratio. While this could have been a suitable finish, I wanted to do a bit more. I mixed up a yellow green color, but combining some Vallejo Game Color Flat Yellow with Citadel Goblin Green at about a 1:1 ratio. This went down as the base color for the toxic spill and was used as the nail color. Then a layer of the flat yellow was applied to the top of the toxic spill.

Final Model (Rear)

I attempted to use realistic scenic water, but there are not dips or anything to the base so it did not sit correctly. I had to come up with an alternate plan. I did not have any other model water materials, so I used what I had on hand, Citadel Plastic Glue Thick. This gave the right texture to the base and because of the thickness, it obscured the lines of the paint on the base and stayed where it was applied. The only minor difficulty was making sure there was no glue on the base that would make it adhere to the surface where it sat to dry.

I am happy with this model and the speed with which I was able to get it completed (48 hours). This has a lot less tiny details, but that allowed me to use a new technique which I appreciate. Looking forward to more Bones work for the wasteland bestiary.

This Is Not A Test...I repeat, This Is Not A Test

This Is Not a Test

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure to spend some time with Joe McGuire, the developer and producer of This Is Not a Test (World's End Publishing). We met up at Games and Stuff (a FLGS) so he could teach me a thing or two about his game to prepare for the NOVA Open where I will be running demos myself. I may even play a longer game or two if we can work it out. When you get the chance, check out the This Is Not A Test facebook page or the This Is Not A Test Official page to see more and hear about the game.

Background

This Is Not A Test Rule Book

Let's talk a little bit about the game itself....imagine Washington, DC...it is full of waste, tribes of man compete for precious resources and the common folk struggle to survive. Well, you know enough about current DC, well the future isn't looking much better. Joe and I live a little bit outside of the beltway and our wives work down in the heart of the district. This Is Not a Test is a post-apocalyptic setting based in the mid-Atlantic region, centered primarily within the Washington, DC-Baltimore metropolitan area.

Following the nuclear holocaust, a lot has changed about this area I have known for the last 20 plus years. Washington, DC is a hot zone and not safe to be inhabited. The nuclear fallout is too severe to host human life. That doesn't mean nothing has survived there, but nothing that could be considered human. Rumors abound of the mutants who survive and hunt the Capital Deadzone. Combine these unintelligent, blood thirsty, scavengers (the mutants, not Congress) with the autonomous cybernetic units that patrol the streets and you get a inhospitable waste that tempts many for the countless artifacts and relics necessary to survive and thrive.

There is a better and more complete background available on the This Is Not a Test site, including descriptions of the known/explored areas including the Burning Lands, The Eastern Pale, Penns, Wild Highlands, and the Tri-State Wasteland.

Game Play

Let's talk about some of the game play features and the feel of the game. I'll have a follow-on post/battle report of the actual game I played against Joe, but will provide some review of the mechanics and the feel of the game. We played a standard skirmish version of the game, but the mechanics in the rule book also allow for longer term campaigns. Hopefully we will work on that and a longer running set in the blog.

Characters

Each figure has a set of seven stats. Move (MOV) determines how far you can move (inches per AP). Melees (MEL) is used to determine success in hand-to-hand combat. Ranged (RNG) is used for any distance-based attack. Strength (STR) is used to determine the amount of damage from a melee attach or to determine success for stat challenge. Defense (DEF) is the base for how tough the figure is and any defensive ability checks. Wounds (WDS) is a measure of how much damage a figure can take before being removed from action. Typical figures will have one wound. Mettle (MET) is the final stat and one that is used for a number of items, including reliability, intelligence, courage and nimbleness.

Each character can also get a number of additional skills. These skills create modifiers to actions which become very helpful. One of specific interest for the leaders of the factions is that any model within 6" of the leader get a +1 to activation. There are also a set of Mutations, which come into play from the nuclear fall-out, but we didn't play with any of these for our game.

Set-up

The game is designed to really be played with quick set-up and to be completed in about 1 hour. Each side selects a faction and a set of players based on the faction selected to agreed upon amounts. We used rather well balanced sets of characters (5 each) from two of the factions. We played on a 3'x3' surface.

As with everything you deploy your models, we went with a standard within 6" of the edge since that was the average movement distance. The board as you can see was rather well covered with various terrain. This replicated pretty well a small town/highway area where some shops (a diner, ice cream parlor, and another shop) are around and playable along with plenty of wrecked cars and signs. Options for cover and flow aplenty.

Turns

Activation. As with all games, this is a turn-based skirmish game. Activation is decided by an initiative roll, d10/higher wins. Once initiative is decided, the winner selects which model will activate and must make an activation challenge roll (d10). Success means the figure has 2 AP; essentially can do 2 activities or one complex action. Failure on the roll means the figure can perform any 1 AP action. As you can see on the attached, that is still plenty. Succeeding the activation challenge also means that you continue to activate figures. You continue to activate figures until you are unsuccessful on a challenge or until you run our of figures. When activation switches to the other player, the same rules apply until all figures are activated.

Attack. If during your turn, you decide to make firing one of your actions you make an attack roll (d10). This is like many other skirmish games with modifiers for buildings, coverage, distance, etc. Once you hit, you mark the character but the hits are not settled until the end of the current activation phase. "Why?", you may ask...well this is to simulate that the actions are happening at or very near to the same time and as such the figures would not understand that until that period of time has ended. Very much, you could have multiple people fire on a single model, which makes the actions/game play a bit more realistic. 

So at the end of the activation phase, any models which were hit (grazed) must have the wounds resolved. The shooter will roll a damage roll (d10) and the target will roll a defense roll (d10). This is a challenge and has modifiers on both sides and whoever has the higher roll wins. If the target loses, they suffer damage which for low-level models will usually kill them, but for higher level characters they may take two or three before taking a dirt nap. If the target wins, they then face a Will challenge. The Will challenge occurs after the wound is resolved and applies to any figure that is alive after the wounds are resolved and were a hit was successful, regardless of damage. If the figure fails the Will check, the figure must them take an involuntary move to cover (up to 6"). If no cover is available, the character must "hit the deck" and go prone in place. A grazed character that successfully makes the Will check may make a voluntary move (up to 6") if grazed. This is again to simulate the reality of if you are shot, you take cover then figure out what to do next.

Movement. With movement, the mechanics are pretty easy. You get a set movement rate and each move at up to that distance is 1 AP. You can make a single move and then another action, but that will negatively affect firing or you can make a double move. Moving over or up objects reduces movement rate as does movement through difficult terrain. To climb to the top of a one-story building is 2 AP provided you are base-to-base with it. You can start a climb, but then will be faced with a climb check at the beginning of the next activation to see if you fall. This makes almost everything is accessible for movement in/over/around/through including buildings, which was rather nice. We spent most of our battle in/through/around the ice cream parlor. 

Once all of the figures are activated and have acted and the hits have been resolved you move onto the next turn. Our 5 on 5 game, was about 10 turns and lasted about 1.5 hours, which included time to teach me the game and for me to take a bunch of pictures. 

My take

This is a fun game for sure and one that is quick to set-up, quick to play, and provides potential for additional development and growth with a longer campaign. I have some ideas for creatures and other things that may through some wild cards into the game play, which I'd also like to explore and propose to Joe as I learn more. There are lots of game play areas I'd still like to explore, including mutants, robots, and creatures in a game; so keep your dial tuned...more emergency alerts to come. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.